Moscow shocked by Kiev’s actions against Russian journalist

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman qualifies them as "a new abduction of a Russian journalist"

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MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Russia is shocked by the Ukrainian authorities’ actions against Russia’s Channel One reporter Anna Kurbatova, which cannot be qualified otherwise but abduction, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"We were shocked by the Kiev regime’s actions against Russian journalists," the spokeswoman said. "Qualifying this as something other than a new abduction of a Russian journalist would be difficult," Zakharova said.

"Individuals come up and do not introduce themselves. They take away a phone and documents and do not allow a phone call either to a foreign mission or relatives or even an employer," the spokeswoman explained.

"Then, the reporter disappears from the information field for several hours and it is only under huge pressure from the public, journalists, representatives of Russian state executive bodies that scanty information is provided that the correspondent was detained by agents of Ukrainian security services," the diplomat said.

"We were shocked that we did not hear from any of high-placed representatives of foreign countries any qualification of such actions by Kiev," Zakharova said.

Russian TV broadcasters reported earlier that Kurbatova had been abducted in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Later, news came that she had actually been detained by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) which claimed that her reports were "infringing on the national interests" of Ukraine.

On Wednesday night, Kurbatova was deported from Ukraine with a three-year entry ban.

While working in Ukraine, Kurbatova was receiving threats over her coverage of events happening in the country. Before she disappeared, Anna was working on a report concerning the persecution of journalists in Ukraine, while a few days ago, Channel One aired her report covering the military parade which took place in Kiev on Ukraine’s Independence Day. The reporter particularly said that the parade was "a march of dependence," while the date itself marked "a sad holiday."

In her opinion, Kiev has returned "to the turbulent 90s," while Ukraine "is totally dependent on America and Europe".

Meanwhile, Channel One said that Kurbatova was expected to arrive in Moscow on Thursday night.